


Baboon Bone Cannon

by junko



Series: Scatter and Howl [35]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Past Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 05:10:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4864316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ambushed by homemade bomb wielding escapees, Renji is forced to fight unarmed combatants.  Meanwhile, having survived an attempted sexual assault, Byakuya is... not doing so well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baboon Bone Cannon

Half-jumping, half-tumbling away from the blast, Renji managed to get a hand up over his face so that he wasn’t completely blinded by the brilliant flash. His ears rang from the explosion. Acrid smoke filled the night air. Rock and debris pummeled him along with some kind of chemical that singed the silk of his shihakushō. 

Wiping stinging tears from his eyes, Renji tried to get his bearings. He came to a skidding stop several feet from the cave’s opening. Zabimaru retracted, having instinctively lashed out to smash the larger stones. Complete luck had kept them both on the narrow path and not crashing down into the moat below. 

Renji couldn’t see much yet, beyond a cloud of dust. The darkness didn’t help, nor the spots still dancing in front of his vision. Everything sounded like his head was underwater. 

Even so, he shouted out a warning, “Now that just pissed me off!”

Because it had. Renji had been feeling pretty grim at the prospect of having to cut down unarmed men, but, obviously, these escapees weren’t without resources. Given that they seemed to have some kind of homemade chemical bombs, Renji was going to have to be ready for anything. Three shakkahō blasts whizzing over his head as he leapt for cover behind a chunk of debris kind of proved his point. The hadō had gone out scattershot though, in every direction, as if the people inside the cave’s mouth had also been blinded, or maybe just hadn't yet identified his position. 

Either way, Renji now knew there were at least three people. All of them potentially capable of kidō, and working together? This could be problematic. Renji didn’t have a lot of kidō skills, so he was going to have to strike hard and fast and try to take out as many as he could in a single blow. Plus, he was hampered by having to fight on this narrow ledge.

Extending Zabimaru again, he slashed blindly at the opening of the cave. He felt impact, heard shouts. Zabimaru hissed with pleasure as they retracted, coiling back up, ready to strike again. 

The smoke began to clear. Renji spotted someone bursting out from the cover of the cave. Even in the smoky darkness, the figure was easy to see, dressed in a simple white uniform and hair the color of that new lieutenant in Hisagi’s Division. The man glanced up at Renji, took aim and shouted, “For Yuka!” and then let loose some kind of blast that turned into a net.

_Hadō, why did it always have to be hadō_ , Renji thought ruefully. At least he was confident no net could capture Hihio Zabimaru. “Ban-kai.”

Sure enough, the kidō net dissolved against the sudden, massive burst of spiritual pressure. Hihiō Zabimaru had the extra advantage of being able cling to the ledge and the side of the cliff more easily, while Renji could ride the bones. Swinging them out from the ledge a bit, Renji took aim at the surprised-looking escapee. If the man was smart, he’d run. Especially as Hihiō Zabimaru opened his gaping jaw in preparation for, “Hikotsu Taihō!”

The brilliant crimson blast of Baboon Bone Cannon tore through the air like a scream, incinerating everything in its path.

Renji waited in the deathly silence that followed. His bare hand clung to the bony ridge, as they undulated, snake-like, waiting to see if anyone one would emerge. _You couldn’t ask for a more merciful and quick death_ , Renji thought, peering into the darkness. _At least we gave them that_.

Hihiō Zabimaru let out a hiss, as though disappointed in such a short, unequal fight.

“We could chase after them,” Renji suggested, though the idea didn’t really appeal to him. He didn’t like the idea of being enclosed and forced, like these men, to have only the options of forward or retreat. Similarly, Zabimaru would be at a huge disadvantage in close quarters, rendering both bankai and shikai fairly useless. Then there was the issue of whatever the hell that stuff was that the prison walls were made of, some kind of soul-sucking rock that leeched away your reiatsu. 

Of course he and Zabimaru could fight like that. Years of being constantly battered by Kenpachi’s spiritual pressure meant that Renji had learned how to draw from even the tiniest reserve to keep pushing forward. He’d still have an edged weapon when his opponents had nothing.

Except chemical bombs, apparently.

Yeah, maybe they’d just wait out the rest of their shift here, with a giant cannon pointed at whoever dared come this way.

Zabimaru grumbled internally, but gave a low rumble of an assent.

When dawn broke on the horizon, and it seemed clear that no one else was coming, Renji collapsed Zabimaru back into their sealed state and slid the sword back into the scabbard at his side. He wanted to leave, at least to check on where Byakuya had been during all this mess, if nothing else. The only problem was this gaping hole. Renji was pretty sure the prison wardens would be unhappy if he left it completely open and unguarded. He was just starting to gather up the largest boulders he could shift when one of the Second Division ninjas appeared behind him.

“Holy shit!” Renji breathed, having nearly jumped off the cliff in surprise. “Do you always got to sneak up on a guy like that?”

The ninja chuckled. “It is kind of our modus operandi.” Her voice was deep and confident. Renji thought, if he could see more of her face than just her fierce brown eyes, she might be handsome. “Acting Captain Abarai? Please allow me to take over. You’re needed at headquarters. It seems one of the prisoners has gone missing.”

“What? Why do they need me for that?”

“The missing prisoner is Captain Byakuya Kuchiki.”

#

Renji broke his personal shunpo speed records making his way back to the Second Division headquarters. The second he stepped out, Soi Fon grabbed him by the collars and slammed his back up against the nearest pine tree. The blow shocked the breath from his lungs. On tip toes, Soi Fon raged into his face, “Where is he? Where are you hiding Kuchiki?”

Finally able to suck in a breath, Renji raised his hands in surrender, “Hiding him? Captain Kuchiki would never--”

She lifted him up to slam him back again. “You know him. Where would he go?”

“I am telling you, lady, Captain Kuchiki would stay put,” Renji snarled, but he purposefully kept his body language otherwise peaceable. 

Soi Fon’s eyes were narrow, suspicious slits. Given that Kenpachi was nowhere in sight, Renji guessed their fight must have ended in a draw, if nothing else. Her lower lip was split and puffed up in a bruise, which only made her look more terrifying. “You’re saying you think Kuchiki is hiding somewhere inside the prison?”

It was a little cheeky, but Renji had to ask, “Have you checked his cell?”

She held on to his collars with one hand now, as she glanced back at her soldiers. One of them snapped to attention at her glare and reported, “The riot seems to have started there. We found the warden locked up in the Kuchiki’s cell, along with several bodies that seemed to have been…. shredded.”

_Senbonzakura_ , Renji thought but didn’t say.

_They are with him_ , Zabimaru confirmed.

Soi Fon glared back at Renji. “Not so law-abiding,” she sneered. “So, I ask you again, where is Byakuya Kuchiki?”

Renji started to open his mouth to repeat that he really, sincerely had no idea, when one of the prison guards came rushing up. Throwing himself on his knees, he said, “The last prisoner has been found. He’s locked himself in the special Kuchiki cell.”

Renji gave Soi Fon a look that silently said, ‘See.’

She released Renji unceremoniously and without even an acknowledgement that he’d been right. He peeled himself from the sticky bark of the pine and made a show of brushing himself off. Soi Fon continued to ignore him.

“Very well,” she said to her soldiers. “See that any breach has been sealed and call off--”

“Um, ma’am?” the prone soldier interrupted. “We can’t go near the cell. The prisoner has his weapon and won’t surrender it. We’ve… that is, at least two of our people fainted from the immense spiritual pressure. I think if we actually tried to wrestle the zanpakutō from his grip, he’d kill us.”

That sounded bad. What would make Byakuya behave like that? He never lashed out unthinkingly. Fuck, he hardly did anything without considering every consequence. Except, maybe, when he was desperate… or really, really freaked out. 

Renji’s heart leaped in concern. 

Soi Fon lashed out a foot and kicked her subordinate hard. “Don’t be such a wimp! There is exactly one rule in the Maggot’s Nest: no zanpakutō! Now get down there and do your damn job.”

When it looked like she might continue to beat her subordinate senseless, Renji cleared his throat. She turned on him, clearly livid at the interruption. 

“I’ll talk him down,” Renji offered. She looked very unhappy at the idea, so Renji added, “Look, I’m captain-level and Captain Kuchiki trusts me. Something must have happened. I know neither of us are your favorite people right now, but you must know this isn’t like him. Let me try. Please.”

Renji didn’t think Soi Fon was going to go for it and he was seriously considering dropping to his own knees to beg, when her shoulders finally dropped and she let out a breath. “Fine, but I go with you.”

Renji didn’t see how he could argue with that. Anyway, he’d’ve agreed to anything. He couldn’t shake the instinct that something was seriously wrong. Byakuya's spiritual pressure acting like a kind of automatic defense? Renji’d heard Byakuya talk about something like that before, but when? 

Following Soi Fon, Renji stared at the kanji two at her back and the way her braids bounced as she walked, trying to remember. 

At the main door, they handed over their zanpakutō to Ōmaeda. Renji had to duck under the partly collapsed doorframe. He touched the scorched walls gingerly. Someone had used kidō to try to blast their way out here, as well. “Did you round everyone up?” Renji asked. “Is everyone accounted for?”

Soi Fon turned around and gave Renji a dark look. Or maybe just a look, Renji was beginning to think she always looked ready to kill a person. Like Ichigo, actually. What did Ichigo call that? His Resting Bitch Face. 

“Do you think I’m a fool?” Soi Fon demanded.

“No, ma’am, I was just curious,” Renji said. “Thing is, I’m pretty sure Zabimaru vaporized at least one, maybe three more. Seeing as I never got much of a chance to debrief, I was just wondering how you were tallying the… uh, dead, as opposed to missing.”

“Ah,” she said, turning back down the hallway. Quietly, she admitted, “We’re working on the exact numbers, but there was a contingent of prisoners who have been cooperating. They gave us a very detailed list of names and numbers.”

Which was how they could be so sure Byakuya was unaccounted for. Renji nodded in understanding, even though she’d already turned her back on him.

Her behavior was so reminiscent of his early days with Byakuya, Renji would be feeling warmly disposed to her, except that his shoulders still ached where she’d slammed him into that tree. 

Suddenly, something even more familiar thrummed against his skin. Byakuya’s reiatsu. 

Renji glanced around at the cave walls that seemed to go on forever. “Are we getting close?”

“A few more checkpoints,” Soi Fon explained.

Still so far away? The hairs on the back of Renji’s neck raised. “Yeah, that’s not right. Why is he on high alert like this?”

“What are you babbling on about?”

“Can’t you feel it? Captain Kuchiki’s spiritual pressure,” Renji said. 

Soi Fon stopped and seemed to cast out with her senses. “Is it some kind of warning?”

Renji's stomach clenched. “I don’t know. But it ain’t good.”

Without needing to discuss it, they both hurried their steps.

By the time they reached the cell door, Renji felt the thrum Byakuya’s reiatsu like the beat of a bass drum reverberating deep inside. Sandy dust rained down on them. Soi Fon glanced between the closed door and Renji. He thought maybe she was actually a bit nervous, but she covered it with a gruff, “Well, go on. It’s not actually locked.”

Renji slipped off his sandals and knocked on the cell door. “Taicho, it’s me,” he said, before very cautiously sliding the door aside.

Peeking his head inside, Renji steeled himself for anything. He was surprised to see Byakuya sitting jinzen, Senbonzakura across his knees, looking as fresh as if he’d just come from the sentō. Dressed all in white, Byakuya's pale skin seemed even paler. His dark hair stood out like a ragged spill of ink against the empty whiteness of the stark cell. 

As quiet as the scene was, Renji could feel the reiatsu warning. The pressure increased when he’d slid open the door. Now, the ground felt like it was trembling. 

“Hey, hey,” Renji said softly. “It’s only me, Taicho. I’m just going to come in and sit with you, okay?”

It was unnerving that Byakuya didn’t look up or even respond to the sound of Renji’s voice. But, the pressure seemed to lessen enough to allow Renji to step over the threshold. Letting the massive spiritual pressure push him down, Renji sat in his usual tailor fashion just inside the door. He rested his hands on his knees and let his back relax against the cool plaster wall. 

The room was nice enough, Renji supposed, it you were a super-minimalist. It was almost entirely empty, though there did seem to be a nearly invisible half-wall behind which Renji imagined a toilet or chamberpot of some kind was probably hidden. But there wasn’t even a bed or futon roll to be seen. Maybe someone brought linens every night? The place actually reminded Renji uncomfortably of the place they’d shifted Rukia to, the Senzaikyũ. 

Byakuya continued to sit perfectly still, radiating wave after wave of ‘don’t touch me.’

That was it.

Renji remembered the story now. During one of their dates in the Human World, Byakuya had confessed to having killed someone with his reiatsu. They’d been playing some dominance game with Byakuya on the bottom, subbing, and Byakuya had panicked. Bam! He’d pulverized the guy.

Renji’s heart sank.

A possible scenario flitted uncomfortably through Renji’s mind.

After all, here was Byakuya all fresh from a shower. A shower he apparently decided to take in the middle of a prison break. It wasn’t hard to imagine a reason Byakuya might feel dirty enough to want to scrub clean, despite the dangers.

“Ah, shit, Byakuya,” Renji breathed. “I hope you killed him.”

A tiny gasp, like the breath of someone coming up for air while drowning was followed by a steady, if empty: “I did.” Then, Byakuya’s head snapped up and he blinked, as if trying to focus. “Renji?”

“Heya, baby,” Renji smiled. “Crap day, huh?”

Byakuya let out a little laugh that was almost like a sob. “You could say.”

Renji desperately wanted to rush to Byakuya and wrap him up in the biggest bear hug ever, but he knew that action had far too strong a chance of backfiring. So, instead, Renji glanced back through the door where Soi Fon sat seiza in the shadows, listening intently. “Any chance you could fetch Taicho some tea?”

She looked deeply affronted at being treated like a servant, but Renji tried to plead with his eyes. _C’mon _, he tried to say mentally, y _ou can see this is starting to work. You're supposed to be some kind of spy. Can’t you just play act a little?_ He mouthed ‘Please?’__

Soi Fon gave Renji the dirtiest look but seemed to get the role she was meant to play. Even though Renji could see her teeth gritting, Soi Fon managed a very light, subservient: “Does my lord require anything else?”

“Just tea is fine,” Byakuya said automatically. But, then, perhaps in a show of sanity, he added, “I can’t expect much else in prison, can I, Captain Soi Fon?”

Standing up to reveal herself in the doorway, she harrumphed. “I’m trusting you two alone. Against my better judgment.”

Renji nodded solemnly. 

“If I had plans to go anywhere, I would have long ago,” Byakuya pointed out. 

Byakuya sounded… almost like himself, Renji thought with a touch of hope. Too bad Renji could feel the rigid waves of reiatsu prickling at his skin like tiny needles. And, the edge in Byakuya’s voice still held a note of empty defeat.

The moment the sound of Soi Fon’s footfalls completely disappeared down the hall, the wall of reiatsu came crashing down so fast and hard it almost knocked Renji flat. Byakuya bowed his head. Renji could see his shoulders sag and begin to shake. So, pulling himself together, Renji crawled as close to Byakuya as he dared. When they were near enough to touch, Byakuya launched himself into Renji’s arms. They fell to the floor together, Senbonzakura still tight in Byakuya’s grip as he wrapped his arms around Renji’s waist and pressed his head into Renji’s chest.

“Hey, wow, lover, this is… uh, unexpected,” Renji breathed. He almost stupidly added, ‘Are you okay?’ but the answer was so obviously ‘NO’ that Renji managed to swallow it back in time.

“Is it really you? Are you really here?” Byakuya asked in a small voice.

“Yeah, baby, it’s me,” Renji said, really wanting to stroke Byakuya’s hair, but keeping his hands firmly, but gently on the rough fabric of the prison uniform near Byakuya’s hips. They’d landed in a way that had Byakuya mostly sprawled on top of him, at least. 

What Renji really wanted to ask was, ‘What happened?’ but there was no point trying to get that information out of Byakuya until he was ready to talk about it. Renji supposed he could just lay there, breathing, but he was never entirely comfortable with silence. “So, I suppose I ought to report,” Renji said. “Let’s see, probably the most interesting thing that happened at the Division was the day I told the seated officers the details of your arrest. I found out that the lot of them had banded together in some kind of airtight pact after our fraternization came out. Can you believe it? All twenty of them agreed that no one would grass us up. Man, you should have seen the fists fly at Kinjo. Pretty much everyone figured he was the squealer. Then when I told them it was you that accidentally let it slip? Yeah, I figured they were going to take me out on the spot for besmirching your character!”

Byakuya breathed easily against Renji’s chest as Renji spoke. 

So, taking that as encouragement, Renji kept on, “But, you know, otherwise that place kind of runs itself. I mean, I guess it helps that you and me are off on assignment a lot. The crew is a well-oiled machine. You should be proud.”

“I always am,” Byakuya said quietly.

“Yeah, me too,” Renji said. Having relaxed some, he found his fingers starting to move a little. He had to force himself to stop when he felt Byakuya’s muscles stiffen. “Right,” he said, letting out a breath and lacing his fingers together to keep them from moving. “Okay, let’s see, Nanako is heading up a team to deal with any flack we might get from your family. Last I heard from her, she'd rustled up some volunteers from allied Divisions to warn our officers who were escorting your relatives back to their various estates about your arrest--you know, in case auntie got organized faster than we expected and they started looking to our unseated as hostages. So, I guess she found a fair number of seated folks interested in the ‘experience points,’ as it were. She pulled from Third and Ninth mostly. We got a few people sniffing around from the Eighth, but… uh, I told her not to accept any from Eight or Thirteen because, well... because I’m a paranoid git, I guess.”

“It was a good call, Renji,” Byakuya said into Renji’s chest. 

Renji lifted his head from the floor to glance at the top of Byakuya’s. Though Byakuya’s hair was shorter, it still covered his face where it pressed into Renji’s pecs. The arm that held Senbonzakura in a death grip pressed into one side, and the other clutched Renji’s shoulder, like he was a raft on open seas. Renji’s arms gripped him loosely, low around the waist. 

Despite his words, Byakuya was still far from okay.

Letting his head fall back again, Renji stared up at the expansive ceiling. The reiatsu suppressing rock made the cell feel smaller, closer, but with Byakuya’s familiar weight sprawled on top of him, Renji was almost comfortable. 

Hell, he’d slept in worse places. The stone under his back was cold and hard, but it was a sight better than mud.

“So, anyways, that’s the Division,” Renji said. “I had a fairly disastrous dinner with my stupid-ass brother and your heir.”

Byakuya’s head lifted just a little in surprise, “Your brother and Shinobu?”

Renji’s eyes met Byakuya’s, “Look, it wasn’t my idea, okay? Shinobu invited him. I guess the heir wanted an expert on prison life to tell him how things are. Which, like I said, not a good idea. It was a fucking mess. Seichi’s lucky I didn’t throw him out the second story window.”

A ghost of a smile flitted across Byakuya’s thin lips before he lay his head on Renji’s chest again. “Indeed. I can only imagine.”

_Yeah_ , Renji thought, _and how ironic that while Seichi was accusing Byakuya of rape…._ he banished that thought with a shake of his head. “Other than to report that my brother is still a humongous dumbwad, the big take-away from dinner was that Shinobu has apparently heard from Lady Masama. She’s on her way already.”

“So soon,” Byakuya whispered. Then, after a beat, asked, “It’s been how many days?”

“About three,” Renji said.

“ _Only_ three.”

“Yeah,” Renji agreed sadly. He almost added, ‘Eighteen more to go,’ but, well, that seemed cruel and unnecessary. “Look, I’m going to talk to Soi Fon. I kind of think you… that is, this room ain’t so bad, is it?”

Byakuya went completely rigid under Renji’s touch. Ah, fuck. Too soon.

“I’m perfectly capable of returning to general population,” Byakuya said stiffly.

“Okay,” Renji agreed. “But I’m not so sure they’re going to see things that way.” Renji could feel Byakuya sucking in a breath, ready to argue, protest, so he quickly added, “Thing is, Taicho, you’re too strong. You’re too dangerous. I don’t think they’re going to want you mixing it up with the peasants any more, you know what I’m saying?”

A brief moment of tension and then Byakuya huffed out a little laugh, “”Peasants’? Really, Renji. That’s the last thing I thought I’d ever hear you say.”

“Well, you know what I mean,” Renji said. “These guys ain’t in your league.”

Renji thought maybe he’d talked Byakuya back around to a better place, but then Byakuya’s grip tightened on the hilt of the zanpakutō pressed into Renji’s side. “Not so long as I have Senbonzakura.”

There was that. And probably Renji should try to figure out a way to get Byakuya to hand over the zanpkautō, but, well, Renji could sympathize all too well. If it were Zabimaru? Fuck yeah, they’d have to pry Zabi out of his cold, dead hands.

So, instead, Renji just reassured Byakuya, “Nah, baby, always. You always outclass these losers.”

Byakuya let out a little breath. They continued to lay on the floor for a long moment until Byakuya asked, “Do you have to go?”

“Huh? No, I’m not going anywhere,” Renji said. In fact, he’d already decided this was where he was going to spend his morning. “I’m not expected back at the division until after lunch. Anyways, I pulled a long night last night. I was thinking about making an executive decision to give myself the day off.”

Byakuya let out an irritated snort. “Don’t get in the habit.”

“Hey, I’m the boss these days,” Renji chuckled.

“Gods forbid,” Byakuya said with a little disapproving cluck of his tongue, but he seemed to finally be allowing himself to settle in. In fact, he adjusted himself so that he was less sprawl and more spoon. He looped a leg over Renji’s and shifted so that his head was more nestled into the crook of Renji’s armpit. 

Snuggled up like this, Renji couldn’t resist burying his nose in Byakuya’s hair and taking in a deep breath. Of course, his scent was a little… off. Instead of the usual floral overtones, Byakuya stank of cheap lye soap. But, if anything, with that mask stripped away, the usually elusive musky smell of man was stronger, more distinct. More… real. It wasn’t exactly familiar, but Renji approved. 

Byakuya seemed to be holding his breath. 

Renji gave him a little squeeze and said, “You still smell good to me. Different,” he admitted, “But still very much you.”

Nudging Renji’s armpit with his nose, Byakuya said, “You stink, like always.”

Renji smiled, knowing that, despite how it sounded, it was a compliment in its own way. “Yeah, you know, I should be using this opportunity to steal all your hair products,” Renji mused. 

“Eishirō will die defending my pride,” Byakuya said dryly.

That line was so much like something he’d say any day that Renji lifted his head again to try to gauge Byakuya’s mood. Of course his body language was anything but relaxed--Byakuya’s face hidden by hair and the fabric of Renji’s shihakushō and he still clung as tightly to Renji as he did Senbonzakura.

Renji really wanted to ask all the questions racing through his mind, like, ‘Are you injured??!!’ and ‘How awful was it?’ and ‘How the living hell did you manage to get Senbonzakura in here with you, anyway??’

Instead, Renji muttered a bit too seriously and a beat too late, “Yeah, I guess he would.”

They lapsed into silence after that, as though maybe Byakuya felt the weight of the unasked questions. So, Renji backed off and settled in to wait. He closed his eyes, only opening them at the soft scrape of a tea tray being deposited at the doorway. Both he and Byakuya tensed, but if Soi Fon had any comment about them lying there on the floor together, she kept it to herself.

Though perhaps her opinion was expressed quite eloquently when she carefully shut the door behind her and left them alone.

Huh. Who knew that woman had a single kind bone in her body?

Renji was going to close his eyes again, but Byakuya stirred. He lifted his head and rested his chin on Renji’s collarbone. “We shouldn’t waste hot tea,” he said. “It’s a luxury here.”

_Besides_ , Renji thought sitting up to untangle himself, _it smelled good_. “Did I fall asleep?"

Byakuya covered a yawn. “I think we both did.”

And yet Soi Fon didn’t take advantage to try to ninja-snatch Senbonzakura? If anyone could do it, it was her. But, Renji was starting to wonder if maybe she’d sussed out for herself what had happened. It might explain the sudden sympathetic behavior. Renji recalled that she’d taken very seriously the reports that he’d delivered of rape in the Rukongai’s Western Second District. 

Renji got up and brought over the tea tray. Looking at it, he was more certain than ever that Soi Fon knew what was up, because the service was delicate and had a distinctly Chinese design to it. These were her personal plates and cups. 

Plus, she’d included a small tray of green tea manju. 

Yeah, she knew.

For the first time since Renji arrived, Byakuya set Senbonzakura aside. He kept the zanpakutō close, nestled near his folded legs. Because, of course, despite being in a private prison cell, Byakuya sat seiza. Using both hands, he poured their tea. Renji, too, fell into their usual pattern and divvied up the treats.

Renji's shoulders relaxed a little. More routine, maybe that was all Byakuya needed. Then, once he was settled, Renji was going to have a few words with whoever ran this place. Maybe kick a few asses.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this just kind of peters out, but it was getting long, and I wanted to try to get a post in this week. More on its way soon!
> 
> Thanks as always to Josey (cestus) for cleaning up my action scenes and general beta reader awesomeness. (Also, should I ever fail to thank her, please know that she probably did all the her usual hard work and I'm just the idiot who for got to say so.)


End file.
